How to Make a Pumpkin Serving Dish

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How to Make a Pumpkin Serving Dish

How to Make a Pumpkin Serving Dishimage by http://www.coachingcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/swisspumpkin2.jpg

The holidays are the worst dirty dish offenders of the year. It doesn't matter if you have two guests or 100, the number of dishes seems to multiply every holiday. This year, for your Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, make serving dishes out of pumpkins to cut down on dish use. Pumpkin serving dishes are easy to make with kids and will make any holiday table stand out.

Instructions

Step 1

Choose a variety of pumpkins. Large carving pumpkins are not ideal for this project because they are hard to handle and require a lot of food to fill them. Smaller, rounded pumpkins are the best for dips or small salads because they hold food well and look cute on the table.

Step 2

Cut off the top of the pumpkin like you would if you were about to carve it. Make the cut a little larger than you would if you were making a jack-o-lantern. This size opening allows guests to easily spoon out food without making a mess.

Step 3

Get messy. Lay down newspaper on your workspace and move your garbage pail close to you. Scoop out the seeds and the pulp of the pumpkin and toss it out (unless you are roasting your pumpkin seeds). Clean the pumpkin until you reach the fleshy part. Continue scooping out the pulp until the flesh is uniform and smooth inside. This will perfectly prep the pumpkin for any food.

Step 4

Place your dips or salad in the pumpkin. If your party isn't for a couple of hours you can store your pumpkin-filled dish in the fridge. However, if you are prepping your pumpkin a few days in advance, store it in the fridge without the accompanying food so the food doesn't accelerate rot or take on a pumpkin flavor.

Step 5

Throw out the pumpkin. That's your easy cleanup.

Tips and Warnings

Clean out all stringy pulp from the pumpkin as that won't taste good.
Store in a cold dark place. Pumpkins do rot so don't add the food into your dish until a couple of hours before the event.
Use your serving dish within two days of making it, so it won't show signs of rot.